British lawmakers’ trip to China cancelled amid row over Hong Kong protests debate
British parliamentarians have cancelled a trip to Shanghai after the Chinese embassy withheld the travel visa of Conservative MP who orchestrated debate on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
A group of British parliamentarians have cancelled a planned trip to Shanghai after Chinese embassy officials withheld the travel visa of a Conservative MP who orchestrated a recent debate on the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
Richard Graham was to due to join the trip, part of a UK-China Leadership Forum organised by the Great British China Centre, on Tuesday.
The delegation issued an ultimatum to embassy officials to grant Graham a visa by 5pm on Monday, or the trip - made every two years - would be cancelled. No visa was issued, Britain's Foreign Office confirmed.
A source familiar with the matter told the South China Morning Post that concerns were raised that the parliamentarians, flying to Shanghai via Hong Kong, could visit the Occupy Central protest camps.
Graham spearheaded a recent Westminster debate in which he called for Britain to maintain its commitments in the Sino-British Joint Declaration of which China is a co-signatory. The Guardian reported that Beijing pressured the lawmaker to make a speech in Parliament to clarify his position before pursuing a visa to enter the mainland.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: "The UK-China Leadership Forum has an important role in UK-China relations. We have raised this with the Chinese government and sought an explanation of their decision to deny a visa."